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Inside This Issue - News
The pending $29 billion merger of Express Scripts Inc. and Medco Health Solutions Inc. is “not bad for a couple of middlemen,” National Association of Chain Drug Stores chairman Bob Loeffler said this month during a withering attack at the organization’s Regional Chain Conference. Express Scripts Inc. and Medco Health Solutions Inc. have provided the Federal Trade Commission with additional data about their planned merger, even as opposition to the deal grows. Retail sales in January were generally mixed, and the leading drug chains’ fortunes — notably Walgreen Co. — varied widely. January sales figures underlined the impact of Walgreen Co.’s loss of Express Scripts Inc.’s prescription business, but the numbers did not dismay all analysts. Rite Aid Corp. and a CVS/pharmacy pharmacist and a CVS pharmacy technician are among the winners of the American Pharmacists Association’s 2012 APhA Immunization Champion Awards. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) should stop publishing draft federal upper limit (FUL) lists based on average manufacturer price (AMP) until a formal rule-making process on AMP is completed, says the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. Regional chain Kinney Drugs has revamped its merchandising department. With its top-line and operating results on the upswing, Rite Aid Corp. has moved to refinance debt. Walgreen Co. has relaunched its weekly circular, giving the Sunday promotional piece a new look and tying it into the retailer’s online and mobile platforms. National Association of Chain Drug Stores chairman Bob Loeffler told attendees at the NACDS Regional Chain Conference that retailers and suppliers alike will benefit from next year’s inaugural NACDS Total Store Expo. The Chain Drug Marketing Association’s (CDMA’s) 86th Annual Trade Expo here last month attracted a record-breaking number of attendees, the group says.
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